Apparatus for extruding collapsible tubes



June 17, 1952 F. REMINGTON ETAL APPARATUS FOR EXTRUDING COLLAPSIBLE TUBES Ill FIND RICH-HEP fi. THRTHGL/fi .a wm lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll|||||||||l|||||!!!|lll||l.

Filed March a, 1949 Patented June 17, 1952 APPARATUS FOR EXTR-UDIN G COLLAPSIBLE TUBES Frederic Remington, Elizabeth, and Richard A.

Tartaglia, East Orange, N. J assignors to Peerless Tube Company, Bloomfield, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application March 8, 1949, Serial No. 80,162

2 Claims.

This invention relates in general to the manufacture of collapsible tubes that are commonly used for packaging tooth paste, toilet creams, paints, glue and other products.

In the manufacture of such collapsible tubes, a slug of metal is placed in a die, for example on the bed of a power press, and a plunger, carried by a reciprocating head in the press, is forced into the die under high pressure so as to cause the metal to flow back along the plunger, thereby to produce a tube having a cylindrical body portion of irregular length, a, sloping shoulder and a neck closed by a web at the end. It is necessary to remove or strip the collapsible tube from the plunger, and generally the stroke of the head of the press is of suflicient length to permit the plunger to be withdrawn a distance from the die greater than the length of the collapsible tube so as to permit the tube to be stripped or pushed from the end of the plunger. However, considerable waste of power and time is involved in such long strokes of the head of the press, and therefore one object of the present invention is to provide a power press for extruding collapsible tubes, which shall include novel and improved features of construction such that the stroke of the press head may be substantially less than the length of the collapsible tube and yet the tube can be easily, quickly and automatically removed from the plunger, whereby collapsible tubes can be rapidly produced with a minimum of power.

Other objects, advantages and results of the invention will be brought out by the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a schematic front elevational view of apparatus for extruding collapsible tubes embodying the invention, showing the plunger in tube-discharging position;

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view approximately on the plane of the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged schematic combined sectional and elevational view of portions of the die and the plunger, showing said portions in their relative positions just prior to the extruding operation; and

Figure 4 is a similar view showing the completion of the extrusion operation.

For the purpose of illustrating the principles of the invention we have shown it in conjunction with a generally known type of power press portions of which have been omitted because they have no bearing on the invention. More particularly, the press includes a bed A at opposite sides of which are vertical side pieces 3 in each of which is a vertical slide way C opposed to the slide way of the other side piece for guidin the vertical reciprocation of the head D of the press which is reciprocated by any suitable power driven mechanism (not shown).

On the bed of the press is mounted a die E in which is a cylindrical die cavity I that has an inverted frusto-conical bottom wall ,2 at the smaller end of which is a coaxial recess or opening 3.

Cooperative with the die is a plunger 4 having a frusto-conical end 5 and a coaxial mandrel projection 6, the plunger 4 being of a diameter less than the diameter of the die cavity and the mandrel projection 6 being of a diameter less than the recess 3.

With this construction, when a slug 1 of metal of a volume to give a collapsible tube of the desired size and weight is placed in the die cavity, as shown in Figure 3, and the plunger 4 is forced downwardly into the cavity against the slug I, the metal of the latter is caused to flow, first tending to fill the die cavity and then flow backwardly or upwardly along the exterior surface of the plunger to form the tubular body 8 of a collapsible tube F as shown in Figure 4. As the plunger completes its downward stroke, the sloping shoulder 9 and the closed neck I 0 of the collapsible tube are formed between the juxtaposed surfaces of the plunger and die.

The invention contemplates means for automatically manipulating the plunger so that the tube can be removed therefrom upon an upward movement of the plunger a distance substantially less than the length of the tube. As shown the plunger is rigidly connected at one end to a head block II which in turn is pivotally connected at l2 to the bottom side of the head D of the press to swing on an axis at one side of and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the plunger, so that the head block may be swung into abutting contact with the bottom surface of the head D so as to locate the plunger above and coaxial with the die cavity l, or the block may be swung downwardly away from the bottom surface of the press head so as to move the plunger laterally away from the die E' into an inclined position as shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings to permit the collapsible tube to slide downwardly oil the plunger. As shown, the bottom surface of the press head is fiat and perpendicular to the direction of reciprocation of the head, and the upper surface of the head 3 block H is also flat, so that when the bee block is swung to bring its upper surface into contact with the bottom surface of the press head, the plunger 4 will be locked or held against tilting during the extruding operation.

Means is also provided for oscillating the head block and plunger from one of said positions to the other, and as shown, said means comprises a bifurcated arm l3 on the head block I l which is pivotally connected at M to one end of a link IS the other end of which is pivotally connected at [6 to one end of a crank arm which is rigidly connected to a shaft l8 journaled to swing about a horizontal axis in bearing lugs IS on the press head. A second crank arm 20 is also rigidly connected to the shaft [8 and extends therefrom in a direction opposite to that of the crank arm I1, and the crank arm 20 has a follower roller 2| movable in a cam groove 22 formed in a block 23 that is secured to one of the side pieces B of the press. The cam groove 22 has two horizontally offset vertical portions 22a and 22b between which is a curved portion 220, said portions being so related and in such relation to the movement of the press head, that when the press head is in its upper normal position as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the roller 2| is in the upper portion of the groove 22 to hold the die block and plunger in the tube-discharging position, while at the beginning of the descent of the press head, the roller 2| moves through the curved portion 22c of the groove and into the lower straight portion 221) so as to swing and hold the head block II in contact with the bottom surface of the press head and with the plunger 4 coaxial with the die cavity.

In operation of the apparatus, the parts are initially in the position shown in Figures 1 and 2, and a slug 1 is dropped into the die cavity by any suitable feeding mechanism, preferably in timed relation to the reciprocation of the press head D. After the slug has been so disposed, the press head begins its descent and the plunger is swung into axial alinement with a the die cavity; continued descent of the press head causes the plunger to be forced into the die cavity as shown in Figure 4 and by dot and dash lines G in Figure 2. Upon the ascent of the press head, the plunger is first removed from the die cavity and then is automatically swung into its offset inclined position with its free end at one side of the die as shown by solid lines in Figure 2. Thereupon, the tube can he slid off the plunger as indicated by heavy dot and dash lines at the left of Figure 2, by any suitable stripping means, for example, by directing a jet of air between the tube and the plunger. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the discharged tubes may be handled in any suitable manner; for example they may be dropped upon an endless conveyor by which they may be transported to a point for the next operation upon the tube, such as the trimming of the open end of the tube or the 6 threading of the neck, etc.

As usual in the manufacture of collapsible tubes, the press head D will be rapidly reciprocated and automatically controlled by mechanism well known in the art, and the slugs 1 will be fed to the die cavity in timed relation to the reciprocation of the press head by means equally well known. It will be observed that the reciprocating stroke of the plunger 4 need be only long enough to produce the required displacement of the metal of the slug and to clear the free end of the plunger with the tube thereon from the top of the die, and therefore collapsible tubes can be produced rapidly and with a minimum of power.

Moreover, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the details of construction of the plunger or punch shifting mechanism may be Widely modified and changed and can be used with other types of presses and in the production of other articles than collapsible tubes, all within the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for extruding collapsible tubes which comprises a die having a cavity to receive a slug of metal, and a plunger reciprocable into and out of said cavity to extrude said slug into a tube on said plunger and withdraw said tube from said die cavity respectively, said apparatus being characterized in that a stationary frame and a linearly reciprocable element thereon are included, said plunger is pivotally mounted adjacent one end on said reciprocable element so that the plunger may oscillate laterally while it is out of said cavity from a first inclined position with its free end at one side of said die into a second position in axial alinement with said die cavity, and means is included to oscillate said plunger comprising a guide block stationarily mounted on said frame and having a cam groove, a follower element in said cam groove, a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on and movable with said reciprocable element and having at one end said follower of said cam groove, and a link pivotally connecting the other end of said lever to said plunger whereby said tube may slide off said plunger when the latter is in the first position.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said pivotal mounting of said plunger comprises a head block on which said plunger is mounted, said head block being pivotally connected to said reciprocable element at one side of the longitudinal axis of said plunger and having an arm to which said link is pivotally connected.

FREDERIC REMINGTON. RICHARD A. TARTAGLIA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,981,490 Witte Nov. 20, 1934 2,125,249 Temple July 26, 1938 

